Romnick Sarmenta and Gladys Reyes win top acting awards!
The first Summer MMFF winners have been unveiled today, April 11, at the New Frontier Theater.
The drama film “About Us But Not About Us” won the Best Picture trophy. The movie directed by Jun Lana is headlined by Romnick Sarmenta and Elijah Canlas.
Among the summer MMFF winners, Romnick Sarmenta and Gladys Reyes won the top acting awards.
“About Us But Not About Us” star Sarmenta was named Best Actor, while Reyes of “Apag” was hailed Best Actress in the 2023 Summer Metro Manila Film Festival.
Kaladkaren bagged the Best Supporting Actress Award for the comedy film “Here Comes The Groom.” She is considered to be the first transwoman to be nominated and win in this category.
READ ALSO: Here Are The Entries Of The First Summer MMFF
The MMFF entries were selected based on the following criteria: artistic excellence (40%), commercial appeal (40%), Filipino cultural values (10%), and global appeal (10%). There were 33 submissions for the first edition of the Summer MMFF. Out of all of those submissions, 23 were new films while 10 were previously submitted to the December 2022 MMFF.
Here’s the full list of Summer MMFF Winners:
Best Picture: “About Us But Not About Us”
2nd Best Picture: “Love You Long Time”
3rd Best Picture: “Here Comes The Groom”
Jury Prize: “Here Comes The Groom”
Special Jury Prize: Elijah Canlas, “About Us But Not About Us”
Jury Prize: “Here Comes The Groom”
Best Actor: Romnick Sarmenta, “About Us But Not About Us”
Best Actress: Gladys Reyes, “Apag”
Best Supporting Actress: Kaladkaren, “Here Comes The Groom”
Best Supporting Actor: Keempee de Leon, “Here Comes The Groom”
Best Director: Jun Robles Lana, “About Us But Not About Us”
Best Screenplay: Jun Robles Lana, “About Us But Not About Us”
Best Sound Design: Arman de Guzman, “About Us But Not About Us”
Best Musical Score: “About Us But Not About Us”
Best Original Theme Song: “Paralaya” from the movie “Apag”
Best Production Design: “About Us But Not About Us”
Best Editing: “About Us But Not About Us”
Best Cinematography: Neil Daza, “About Us But Not About Us”
Best Float: “Love You Long Time”
Among the films that competed in the first summer edition of MMFF 2023 were the following:
“Apag,” a crime drama directed by Brillante Mendoza and starring Coco Martin, Lito Lapid, Jacklyn Jose and Gladys Reyes.
“About Us But Not About Us,” a dramatic thriller starring Romnick Sarmenta and Elijah Canlas and directed by Jun Robles Lana;
“Unravel: A Swiss Side Love Story,” featuring Gerald Anderson and Kylie Padilla in a romance story filmed in Switzerland and directed by RC de los Reyes;
“Singlebells,” a comedy film starring Aljur Abrenica, Alex Gonzaga and Angeline Quinto and directed by Fifth Solomon;
“Kahit Maputi na ang Buhok Ko (The Music of Rey Valera),” a biopic musical starring RK Bagatsing and Meg Imperial and directed by Joven Tan;
“Love You Long Time,” a romance film starring Carlo Aquino and directed by JP Habac;
“Here Comes the Groom,” a comedy film starring Enchong Dee, Kempee de Leon, Awra Briguela, Maris Racal and Kalad Karen and directed by Chris Martinez;
“Yung Libro Sa Napanood Ko,” written and directed by Bela Padilla, who topbills this romance drama film along with South Korean actor Yoo Min-Gon.
